Why Eddie Jones STILL remains a fascinating figure in the eyes of many Wallabies stars – despite disastrous 2023 World Cup in France
Gone but not forgotten, the spectre of Eddie Jones clearly still haunts – and fascinates – some Wallabies players.
While Jones’ second stint in charge of Australia was regretful, he remained a talking point at the Wallabies’ first press conference ahead of this Saturday’s Test against England – who Jones also coached – at Twickenham.
Back at Jones’s old Teddington training ground haunt, Wallabies pair of Samu Kerevi and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto sung the praises of their new coach Joe Schmidt ahead of their Grand Slam tour opener.
Yet there was still time for the subject of Jones’s controversial regimes to crop up a year on since he resigned from the Wallabies and a couple of years since being sacked by England.
That was primarily because in Danny Care’s new autobiography, the former England scrum-half has reignited memories of Jones, who now oversees Japan.
He explosively suggested during the seven-year reign under the Aussie ‘everyone was bloody terrified of him’ and that he ruled by fear.
Care never hid his admiration for Jones as coach though, and Kerevi was happy to jump to the defence of the 64-year-old
‘I wouldn’t say terrifying,’ shrugged Kerevi, when asked about life under Jones.
Former coach Eddie Jones (pictured) clearly still haunts – and fascinates – some Wallabies players
Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi ‘wasn’t terrified’ of Jones, telling reports he admired his ‘pursuit of excellence’
‘I think it’s how you take it. I grew up in a different culture to what rugby is now.
‘The pursuit of excellence puts pressure on everyone, and I think that’s just what Eddie is like.
‘I’ve got a good relationship with Eddie. I think his pressure was on not just the players, but the staff. I think that’s probably what [England’s] Danny Care is talking about.
‘But it’s how you receive it. Do you thrive under it? I guess for us, we didn’t get the results last year with Eddie. But our focus now is on on Joe, and the team this year. So I wish Eddie all the best.’
Salakaia-Loto is also loving life under Schmidt.
‘As players, it’s been unreal. He’s obviously got the runs on the board and his resume shows the success that he’s had as a coach and the influence that he can have on teams,’ the lock said.
‘And he’s definitely had that influence on us this year. I think his attention to detail around the game, the way he harps on the importance of the fundamentals and the basic skills that we need to do well to become a successful team, is something that’s been driven quite hard.
‘I think for boys that have been involved previously, they’ll tell you that it’s been a fresh breath of air here for everyone involved, and we’re only going to get better and thrive under someone like Joe.’
Meanwhile, former Wallabies centre Morgan Turinui is tipping Joseph Suaalii to be a standout against England.
He believes the ex-Roosters NRL star will be ‘an excellent success’ and feature off the bench.
Australia tackle England from 2:10am AEDT on Sunday November 10, live on Stan Sport.
